Panel Discussion with Guest Speakers: 
Peter Bennington, CIO, Government Employees Superannuation Board (GESB) 
James Furness, CIO of Coventry Group 
Doug Horsley, CIO, St John of God Healthcare 
Topic : "Views at C-Level I.T." 

This illustrious Panel, made up of Government and Private Sector CIOs will attempt to demystify the role of CIO through their working experience. They will address such questions as what drives organizations to create the CIO role in their Executive Team, how CIOs add value and what you should know if you aim for the "C-Level" IT job.

Peter Bennington is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Government Employees Superannuation Board and has over 20 years experience in the management and implementation of IT projects across a diverse range of industries. Peter is a foundation member of the Perth Chapter of the Project Management Institute, a member of the Australian Computer Society, possesses a Bachelor of Business degree in Information Processing and a Masters of Science in Project Management. Peter's Masters thesis was on IT Benefits Management and his research into this area has been published by the Project Management Institute in their Project Management Journal, July 2004 edition.

Doug Horsley is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) St John of God Healthcare. Coming from a business background Doug believes the main objective of a governance framework within any organisation is to balance the opportunity management and risk management in the context of the strategic direction of the organisation. He is of the view that the primary role of the IT governance framework is to balance all the new opportunities IT may afford the organisation with the potential risks they may have on the existing IT operations. Doug Horsley has a wealth of management experience particularly in the area of world class manufacturing in Europe, Asia & Australia. He has also fulfilled the role of CIO for Swan Brewery and ERG. His skills are in strategic planning, supply chain management & IT Management. Doug sees his current role as a Change Agent, through the implementation of processes in IT with the objective of aligning IT with the Business needs of SJOG.

Rob Rowe
Executive Consultant with DBM Australia
Topic : "It’s Time To Put Human Capital On The Balance Sheet." 

Rob Rowe is an Executive Consultant with DBM Australia, a leading provider of strategic human resource solutions.
 
The success of every business depends on their staff, so why is it that so many organisations pay token attention to the mantra "attraction, selection, retention of the best" and do not fully appreciate the cost of getting these wrong? Business is very aware of the depreciation of capital assets, can measure the cost of bad business decisions and of failed projects, but ignores the effect to the bottom line of high attrition and unsuitable human assets.
 
Rob Rowe enjoyed a successful high-profile career at IBM, was a world-recognised technical expert based in the US and Director of Organisation and Management Services. He subsequently held directorships in career transition and leadership development companies in New York and London. He launched the Oxford University management competency development program in the US, and, as a Development Adviser, trained and coached participants to attain Oxford University Management certification. He is currently an Executive Consultant with DBM Australia, a leading provider of strategic human resource solutions. 
 
Rob has attained management certification in the United States from Georgetown University in Washington DC, Kellogg Graduate School of Management Northwestern University and, Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business University of Virginia. He is a popular speaker on motivation and leadership for MBA programs at Australian universities.

Bill Stewart
IBM State Manager  Western Australia 
Topic: "Trends for the IT industry - 2004 to 2006"

Bill has over 30 years experience in the ICT industry having joined IBM in Perth as a Systems Engineer in 1973. Prior to joining IBM he was employed by BHP specialising in plant management and mining. 
 
In Perth, Bill held positions in Technical Support, including spending time in IBM's Worldwide Technical Support Centre in Europe, Systems Engineering Management, Account Management, before moving to Melbourne in 1985 as the Client Executive for IBM Australia's largest customer, National Australia Bank (NAB) . Bill held global responsibility for IBM's relationship with NAB in Australia, UK. USA and New Zealand and managed a worldwide team in supporting their ICT strategy, business and technology integration plans and the establishment of global ICT standards. In 1998 Bill was appointed General Manager of the Financial Services Sector for IBM Global Services, where he had responsibility for leading a team in marketing IBM's services offerings of outsourcing, systems integration services and information technology services to the financial services market place in Australia and New Zealand and at a operational level managing a team of technical and operations support
staff responsible for the operating environment of our customer base who had outsourced their ICT operations, application managed services and project implementation to IBM. In 2002 Bill was appointed State Manager for Western Australia. 
 
Bill's ICT experience includes technical support, marketing, operations, project management and at the executive level, marketing management, strategy planning and operations management including international experience in UK, USA and New Zealand. 
 
Bill is a graduate of Curtin University (Western Australian Institute of Technology) in Business Management and has attended advanced management training at University of Virginia and Harvard Business School. 

I.T. has long been considered as unable to meet the expectations of business. 
The event is a presentation from a dynamic high-profile panel of business and I.T. leaders, which has been assembled to challenge or agree.

Robyn Henderson
Global Networking specialist 
Topic: "BE SEEN, GET KNOWN, MOVE AHEAD"

Regarded as a Global Networking Specialist, Robyn has authored 7 books (including 4 on networking and business building) as well as being a contributing author in the American Best Seller Masters of Networking.

Robyn's has spoken in 10 countries, presents over 150 times each year and has never advertised. All her work comes from networking and referrals and her website: www.networkingtowin.com.au.

A detailed bio is attached for further information (PDF 178KB)

Guest Speaker: Negba Weiss-Dolev, accompanied by Warwick Whitford
Managing Director of Resurgence
Topic : "DRESS - IMPRESS - CAREER - SUCCESS"

We spend our entire career ensuring we update our skills and knowledge, but often we have the same outdated image from yesteryear.  Physical presentation is a critical element to initial impression and continued career success. We should ensure we spend time on achieving a look to reflect this.

Negba Weiss-Dolev is Managing Director of Resurgence, a company she recently formed to assist companies wishing to re-energise their workforce and, amongst other services, assist people at a career cross-road.

Negba got to the top in her successful IT career. Prior to forming Resurgence; she was General Manager, Business Solutions Group, of Adacel Technologies and a Senor Executive at Telstra Corporation. Her many skills include that of a change agent, capable of facilitating shifts in behaviours, as well as systems and processes.

Accompanying Negba will be image-creator Warwick Whitford.  You will hear professional advice and see demonstrations by Warwick, who has extensive experience as an Image Maker for photos and visual concepts in addition to being a stylist and make-up artist for theatre, television, magazine publications, modelling shoots and model portfolios.

In an endeavour to create a fun environment for lunch; you will also have the opportunity to win prizes including packs of gorgeous Guinot body products (value $95 each) cheerfully donated by Vive magazine, the magazine for women who mean business!

So treat yourself to this unique experience, release your imagination and just think about what an update to your image could bring you! 

A lively and stimulating Panel Discussion on how CEOs can address the issue of female retention in the workforce. 

Joining us will be panel members from multiple industry sectors drawn from Government, Corporate, Recruitment and Consulting organisations